The Dark Queen of White 1.2

2.

In the country home of King Egan, Helene was then an older lady with her attention on focus on the young lady in her care. The Princess was called by her nickname then, Clare, as not to complicate her upbringing. She was not alone, but with two servants; one was a huntsman and the other a maid for the Princess. By then, Clare had grown to become a beautiful lady, with her dark hair flowing to her back, and her skin was as clear as the water in the stream during autumn. She was unlike any other ladies, while her home was a simple country house, and her spare time was in the forest. She had followed the huntsman on his regular checks to inspect the traps or on the trail with him for the meat on the table.

"That's not the way to hold a bow, my Princess." Alan Bates, the huntsman had previously served with King Egan' as a marksman in the archery team, was then the protector of the Princess. He was in his middle ages, but he kept a well built frame. He was dressed in his kill leather skin, and carried a long bow favored by the archers. He also favored to call Clare the Princess as that was what he addressed every young girl he met.

"You are holding it wrong." Alan stepped up to Clare and adjusted her hold on the bow. He had fashioned a shorter bow for her, with the weight adjusted for her height. "Hold it upright and pulled the string back."

Clare did as he asked, with the strength of her right arm; she pulled hard at the string. The bow ends curved to her command and was held in position while she aimed at her quarry. It was a tree trunk at fifty paces; a fine distance for one so young. She released the string and the arrow notched to it went across the distance like lightning. It struck at the grass blades at the foot of the tree trunk, and she sighed.

"Do not fear, my Princess. You would make it one day." Alan gave her his words of encouragement. "You may one day out distance me with the bow."

Clare lowered the bow, and smiled. She had been practicing for over eight seasons then; the day she started was on her twelfth birthday when she got Helene' permission to learned. Alan had placed in a good word for her; that she was a Princess and would one day need to defend her land. Helene reluctantly agreed, for the young girl then was unlike any she had taken care of. Clare was a wild one, far from her inherited qualities as a Princess, but she was more of a tomboy; refusing to wear the dress, but clad herself like a boy. She would have sheared off her long dark locks, if not for the authority of Helene against it. She kept that, but her daily rituals were hunting and fighting with weapons; be it against Alan or an imaginary foe. She had taken to carry a dagger on her waist, much to the dismay of the caretaker.

"It’s a dagger, Helene. I may need it to protect me from the bears." Princess Clarity or Clare as she was known to be called by Helene.

"Aye and the wolves would be the small cubs that you had played with." Helene replied. During her younger age, Clare found a weak wolf cub. There were wolves in the forest, but they never approached the house. She had nurtured it back to health and grew with it for a while, against the advice of Alan. He had sought the wolf for he was concern that a cub would bring its mother, but the young lady was adamant on the pet. The wolf grew up and was soon an adult creature but would stick close to Clare.

On the final and strong advice of Alan, Helene allowed the huntsman to remove the creature from the care of the Princess. The wolf was taken away to the forest, but Clare soon became sick for a few nights with raging fever. She kept on calling for her wolf pet, but with the patience of a concerned mother, Helene soon cured her of the ailment. Somehow after her recovery. Clare never mentioned about the wolf. Helene thought no more of the wolf, but on some nights, she had premonition that the wolf was nearby; guarding the young mistress from danger.

Dangers were never far from them, being a house in the forest then, long ignored by the King for its occupants. The annual trip of the King for the country home to do his hunting was over since the Princess was sent there. Thus the forest freed of its tormentor, soon grew back its own stock of creatures, both predators and preys. It would have been a grand hunting ground, but the King had given the edict that forest section was to be freed of hunting. So the only intruders to the forest were the rogue bears or the hungry predators.

Alan was always there with his bow and arrows, never a threat was to harm the occupants inside. He had never mentioned it to the ladies, but he had done a few adventures of his own in the forest with bandits or fugitives which had taken a wrong turn. He had tracked and removed the ones which would not budge from his threats. For some dangers, they would need more deterrent measures.

It was the series of dangers that shaped the characters of the Princess.